GD check-in 9/29

erien

@CandaceC1020 I started my last pregnancy about 10 lbs heavier than normal due to fertility treatments and I lost weight during my third trimester following the GD diet.  This time I started my pregnancy 10 lbs lighter than last time so fingers crossed I can keep my weight up otherwise I'll go home from the hospital at my high school weight! 

 

As for cereal, I eat Special K Protein and Nature Valley Granola with Protein.  As long as my sugars stay in check I will eat them with cow's milk.  But as my sugar levels rise (as the placenta grows and hormones surge), I will switch to almond milk.  It is much easier for me to give up cake and cookies than it is cereal!  I also limit cereal to snacks. 

 

And keep up with the exercise.  That's awesome that you make time for that everyday! 

bowlwoman

Howdy ladies

Just got back from my MFM appointment, and everything looks great. I had +1 protein in my urine at my regular OB appointment yesterday, but I drank a heckofalot of water before my appointment, and the numbers were great today. BP at 116/62, sugars look great, absolutely no weight change from two weeks ago (weight was exactly the same).

So, things look to be swimming along. In two weeks I start my weekly NSTs and BPPs, so my last two weeks until things start getting crazy.

How is everyone doing today? And, welcome to all the new people!

Emilysan16

Just got back from my appointment. It was a good one! Yay! The dr said that my numbers were great and instead of 5 times a day, I just need to do a fasting one in the morning ! I told him that I was going on vacation in the Keys and had to have a piece of key lime pie. He said well it wouldn't be a good trip if you didn't.

nopegoat

Had a follow up with my endo today. She asked about my carb intake since my carbs were all over the place. I told her that the nutritionist upped my carb Limit and she didn't believe it until I pulled out the paper with my diet plan on it. So she changed it in her computer. Officially on a normal GD diet. Woohoo! I also asked her why I am testing 6 times a day and about my 1hr post meal number, since based on the comments here are pretty strict. She said it's always what she recommends. I didn't push further since my numbers were usually on track with what she wants anyways. I see her again in 2wks.

bowlwoman

@kdm06c‌ Excellent progress with the endo. Your diet sounded like my friend's whose type II was so severe during pregnancy that she was on a 24-hour insulin pump. I'm glad she updated her info.

hthomas17

Hi There,

 

I dont post on here too often, but since I "caught the betes" I thought I'd join in

1. How far along are you?

31 Weeks & 2 days

2. Anything new on the medical front (doctor appointments, nonstress tests, ultrasounds) this week?

Met with the endocrinologist last week & will go back on the 13th to go over my numbers. Other than that, no medications or anything like that.

3. How are you feeling in general?

I feel great until my timer to check my blood sugar goes off & then I get a surge of anxiety & stress.I REALLY don't want to go on insulin or any kind of medication so I'm constantly afraid of what my numbers are going to say.

4. Any issues with your numbers, meds, or food intake?

My FBS in the morning has been a little high. The goal is 70-90 and I'm getting 90, 84, 96, and then this morning I got 108 which stresses me out. My post lunch & post dinner numbers are perfect, it's just these morning numbers that are pissing me off. Not sure what I can do to help my morning numbers, maybe eating MORE at night? I was trying to steer away from that but maybe that's what's hurting me.

GTKY: Are you planning to blow your diet for a special occasion (birthday, anniversary, baby shower, holiday, etc.)?

My bithday & baby shower are on the same weekend in about 2 weeks. That weekend might be a bust, but I'll try to control myself for the most part.

bowlwoman

@hthomas17 Sorry you "caught the beatis" and have to join us, but welcome.

As for the stress, try not to stress because it actually can cause your numbers to go higher. All the cortisol and adrenaline can increase your sugars. We had a discussion a couple of weeks ago about how we document any highly stressful days/hours/minutes when we test because it can make a difference in the sugar numbers and it's good for your doctor to know that it's not something hormone related to the pregnancy or that you've ignored/cheated/messed up the diet.

Also, higher fasting numbers are not uncommon. Your placenta hormones are higher in the morning, which is why many of us have the mandate of a lower carb allotment and no fruit in the morning. Yes, eating more for your bedtime snack can help, but for some of us (e.g., me), meds are pretty much the only option to keep the fasting numbers down. I was running in the high 90s to mid 100s off meds, and now that I've been on them a couple of weeks, my fasting numbers are always in the 70s and 80s. Meds do make it a bit more complicated because you're more closely monitored, but if you do have to go on meds, it's not from anything you did wrong. It's just some extra oomph your body needs to keep you and the baby safe.

GL, and feel free to ask any questions and submit RECIPES!

devinefisch

I have clearly not got the hang of managing this just yet. My numbers yesterday were 84 in the morning, 81 after breakfast, then 140 at lunch AND dinner. Oops. I think that's not great? I still haven't had my appointment so I'm scouring the internet trying to figure out what my numbers are supposed to be.

So far what I'm reading says you should be getting between 70-90 in the morning. And below 110 after meals throughout the day. Does that sound about right for the rest of you? No worries, I know you aren't doctors and everyone could have different numbers. I'm just nosey

bowlwoman

@devinefisch My numbers are supposed to be 60-95 for fasting, and 60-120 two hours after a meal. Other doctors/practices have slightly different numbers, but these have been my guidelines during all three pregnancies. And, both girls were perfect weights, and this LO is tracking to be the same.

A couple of things you can do for the lunch/dinner numbers: if you have a carb allotment range (45-60g carbs per meal), try eating on the lower end of the allotment. Also, make sure you're doing your midmorning and midafternoon snacks, because you may be spiking after meals because your sugars are dipping too much at other times (yeah, I know it seems counterintuitive, but it does make a difference to keep things as even as possible throughout the day). And, if after you've done this stuff and you're still having problems, then you at least know you've done your due diligence.

Also, are you keeping a food diary for the first few weeks? I know that it really helps to pinpoint if you have specific foods that spike your sugars. For me, rice does it every time, so I pretty much have to cut out rice during my pregnancy or else my sugars would be through the roof. I have no problem with potatoes, but corn can be iffy, depending on how it's processed. And, I have better luck with a Hershey's bar than I do with Ghiradelli chocolate for a treat, even though they should have about the same carb content. It might have something to do with how it's processed or fillers. Or maybe it's just harder to determine a serving size when munching on a handful of chocolate chips vs 3 squares of a Hershey's bar.

The first few weeks are trial and error to see what your body chemistry has problems with, how you can handle the change in diet and routine, and if your body is producing too many hormones for diet/exercise to cut it and you have to go on meds.

Have you met with a nutritionist at all yet?

devinefisch

Food journal! That's a great idea. Thank you so much for the advice. That's basically what I was wondering. I have a meeting with a nutritionist on the 14th but am supposed to be tracking my numbers to give to my doctor next week. It's kind of been overwhelming and I want to do what's best for baby obviously but I've also been really frustrated because for the first 22-24 weeks I was pregnant I threw up pretty much EVERYthing so I was barely eating. Then only got about 4 weeks of eating what I want before this popped up. I think my body just hates being pregnant!

I also thought a diagnosis of GD just meant cutting out sugar to be honest. All this carb counting is tough! I do think the food journal will help though.

bowlwoman

@devinefisch Check out the first post of this thread. I've posted my GD diet (for informational purposes only), so that should give you some idea of what's ok and what you need to count. I also included my eating schedule, carb allotment per meal and snack, and serving sizes.

A food journal is a must early on, because pinpointing your problem foods is huge. I've done it handwritten in a notebook for DD1, on a spreadsheet for DD2, and in a diabetes app on my phone for LO. As long as it's in a format you can use, it doesn't matter how you do it.

CandaceC1020

devinefisch said:

Food journal! That's a great idea. Thank you so much for the advice. That's basically what I was wondering. I

I'm journaling all of my food on sparkpeople.com.  It's a weight loss site, but I've been able to change my settings to simply food journal so I can get an good idea of what I'm eating and if I need to change anything.  It really helps to be able to look at a few days and see if anything triggers me feeling icky or makes me sick.

KMW08

One more tip I'll add here

My insurance sucks, so I started using a ReliOn Prime meter & strips from Walmart. Long story short, I ended up also using a OneTouch Ultra. The ReliOn consistently reads 25-30pts higher than both my OneTouch and the Bayer Contour we have at my work.

I went to Walgreens today and they have the OneTouch Ultra2 for $9.99 after using your Walgreens shopper card and the in-store booklet coupon. OneTouch's strips are pricey, but I'm willing to pay for them for a reliable reading!

catyskye11

1. How far along are you?
30 weeks 2 days (whattttt?!)

2. Anything new on the medical front (doctor appointments, nonstress tests, ultrasounds) this week?
Have my regular appt Monday then on Tuesday my first consultation with Diabetic counseling. Have no idea what to expect! Slightly terrified?

3. How are you feeling in general?
No different than usual

4. Any issues with your numbers, meds, or food intake?
No clue! Yikes!

GTKY: Are you planning to blow your diet for a special occasion (birthday, anniversary, baby shower, holiday, etc.)?
I feel like I want to say yes, but really need to say no?

bowlwoman

@catyskye11‌ Welcome to the thread, and I'm sorry you're joining us. Luckily we have a good group of ladies to help us through this kinda sucky issue.

Feel free to ask any questions you might have before your appointments, and check out the previous threads too. We may be creepy Internet strangers, but we also have a good collection of practical knowledge on how to navigate this stuff.

catyskye11

@bowlwoman‌ Thank you for being so welcoming! Knowing there are others in the same boat willing to offer advice is incredibly reassuring I'm sure after Tuesdays appt I'll have some questions! Looking forward to a wealth of C.I.S knowledge!

bowlwoman

@catyskye11‌ We've all been there as first timers.

nopegoat

Possibly a stupid question. Do you ever just have low sugar days? I haven't eaten anything different today but my sugars have been a good bit lower than normal. (75/86, 72/91, 67/96) Normally they are around 83-87 before and then 112 after.

bowlwoman

kdm06c said:

Possibly a stupid question. Do you ever just have low sugar days? I haven't eaten anything different today but my sugars have been a good bit lower than normal. (75/86, 72/91, 67/96) Normally they are around 83-87 before and then 112 after.

Yup. Hormone surges are a fun thing.

nopegoat

bowlwoman said:

kdm06c said:

Possibly a stupid question. Do you ever just have low sugar days? I haven't eaten anything different today but my sugars have been a good bit lower than normal. (75/86, 72/91, 67/96) Normally they are around 83-87 before and then 112 after.

Yup. Hormone surges are a fun thing.

Oh man. Great stuff. That 67 hit me hard. Trying to cook dinner while getting shaky and kind of dizzy is not fun.

bowlwoman

kdm06c said:

bowlwoman said:

kdm06c said:

Possibly a stupid question. Do you ever just have low sugar days? I haven't eaten anything different today but my sugars have been a good bit lower than normal. (75/86, 72/91, 67/96) Normally they are around 83-87 before and then 112 after.

Yup. Hormone surges are a fun thing.

Oh man. Great stuff. That 67 hit me hard. Trying to cook dinner while getting shaky and kind of dizzy is not fun.

I get shaky when I get below 70, and I have talked to some friends about this. My best friend feels the best when her sugars are in the 60s, and my neighbor who works as a nurse on the kidney/diabetes floor of a local hospital gets shaky under 80. Everyone's biochemistry is unique to this on how they feel at what level.